"That's very good." Liu Guanxiong smiled, and Shen Sè looked very relieved, "In this case, I have nothing to worry about." ”

Yang Shuoming heard what Liu Guanxiong meant, he was a little unexpected, and couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

"Ziying, do you want to ......?" Feng Guozhang understood a little and couldn't help asking.

"There will inevitably be a big war between our country and Japan this time, and I am weak and sickly, and it is difficult for me to be competent for the affairs of the ministry. Liu Guanxiong looked at Feng Guozhang and said, "Please also ask the president to be considerate." ”

Hearing Liu Guanxiong's answer, Feng Guozhang just wanted to say something to keep him, but when he saw that Liu Guanxiong's forehead was in a cold sweat due to pain, he couldn't help but sigh, and the words of retention were not said after all.

At this moment, a secretary of the presidential office walked in quickly and said to Wang Zhengting: "Vice Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called you to say that the Japanese Minister Kohata urgently wants to see you. ”

Listening to the secretary's words, Feng Guozhang and the others were all stunned.

"I'll come when I go." Wang Zhengting got up as he spoke, followed the secretary into another hall, and answered the phone.

After a while, Wang Zhengting returned to the conference hall, he looked at everyone, and his eyes finally stayed on Yang Shuoming.

"As Han expected, the Japanese minister was even more anxious than us."

"They didn't send an ultimatum or a declaration of war this time?" Feng Guozhang asked.

"There are no documents, he came to show us that this is a 'misunderstanding', and I hope we will exercise restraint." Wang Zhengting said, "It seems that the Japanese government is indeed as Hanzhi said, and it cannot control the military. ”

"It's all like this, but it's not a 'restraint' that can be done." Cai Ye said with a sneer.

"Rutang, go over now and listen to what the Japanese minister has to say." Feng Guozhang said, "When you come back, we'll discuss it again." ”

Wang Zhengting nodded, took the coat and hat from the secretary, turned around and walked away quickly.

"Since the Japanese military has put aside the government and acted alone, we don't need to go to the Japanese government in everything, and take action directly against the Japanese military." Cai Ye looked at everyone, and finally his eyes fell on President Feng Guozhang, "Without further ado, if the president agrees, our army will take action immediately." ”

Feng Guozhang pondered for a while, his eyes swept over everyone present one by one, and he waved his fist as if he had made up his mind.

"Let's fight last time we made a five-year peace, and this time we will try to fight him for twenty years of peace."

Hearing Feng Guozhang's words, the people in the conference hall seemed very excited, and Cai Yi's eyes involuntarily turned to Yang Shuoming, but suddenly found that Yang Shuoming's eyes were glancing at the clock intentionally or unintentionally.

Tokyo, Japan, Office of the Prime Minister.

"Minister Kohata in Beijing called and said that China's government was peaceful, but the people's anti-Japanese sentiment was strong." Japanese Prime Minister Takahara Kei showed a copy of the telegram to Treasury Minister Takahashi Shiqing, "If we stop Siberia from sending troops now, it will be too late." ”

"I'm afraid it's not that easy." Takahashi shook his head and said, "The General Staff Headquarters always emphasizes the inviolability of the Emperor's commanding power, and this time the Vladivostok Incident is only afraid that Uehara will know it clearly." ”

"Nòng is not good, Ugaki also knows, but he doesn't say it" Hara Kei said angrily, "If you always let Uehara and them come nonsense, Japan will be destroyed in their hands sooner or later"

Hearing Yuan Jing's words, Takahashi Shiqing couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh.

"The biggest mistake we made was underestimating the strength of the military department."

"Japan is now in the most dangerous moment, that is, sacrificing my life, and I also want to stop the military department's misdeeds." Yuan Jing looked at the telegram on the table like snowflakes, and Yīn said with a calm face.

Known as the "Prime Minister of the Commoners", Hara is a symbol of Japan's "Taisho Democratic Era" and a realist politician. Hara, who was born as a commoner, has always strived to replace Japan's traditional feudal politics with party politics, and he has achieved the first true "party cabinet" in Japanese political history. But now, the Hara cabinet is facing an unprecedented crisis.

Soon after Hara formed his cabinet, World War I, which lasted for more than six years, ended. Hara personally persuaded the Japanese patriarch Saionji Konobu to serve as the plenipotentiary representative of the Japanese government to attend the post-war peace conference. The reason why pro-British and American factions such as Nishiharaji Konobu and Makino Nobuaki were sent to the Paris Peace Conference was because Hara believed that establishing good relations with Britain and the United States, especially the United States, was more important to Japan than anything else in the postwar international community. Hara has said more than once: "Cooperation between Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom is extremely beneficial to the future of our country. On the other hand, if Japan were to become estranged from the United States, it would be very dangerous. Prior to the establishment of the Hara Kei Cabinet, the outbreak of the "October **" in Russia fundamentally shattered the foreign strategy planned by Aritomo Yamaguchi and the military department to confront Britain and the United States through Japan-Russia cooperation and then expand their influence on the mainland. After Hara Kei came to power, in order to avoid Japan's international isolation and to cope with the new changes in the international environment facing Japan, Hara Kei adopted the foreign line of coordination with Britain and the United States. ,

Hara's coordinated foreign policy toward Britain and the United States was first manifested in the adjustment of China policy. Hara Kei believes that Japan's expansionist policy of using force against China so far has caused severe friction between Japan and Europe and the United States, and is the main reason for Japan's international isolation. Prior to this, Hara had objected to the "21 Articles" proposed by the Okuma Shigenobu cabinet, believing that such a move would stab China's nationalist sentiments and not only damage the friendly relations between Japan and China, but also that the Western powers would suspect Japan's ambitions against China and make Japan more isolated in the international community. Hara Kei believes that Japan should regard "Japan-China friendship" as its basic policy toward China under the principle of non-interference in China's internal affairs. Immediately after the formation of the Yuan Jing Cabinet, it was forbidden to provide loans and export weapons to the Chinese government. The Hara cabinet also tried to provide loans to China through the "new loan proposal to China" proposed by the United States. The basic China policy of the Hara Kei Cabinet was established on the premise of coordination with the United States and Britain and based on the spirit of non-interference in internal affairs, which meant that Japan had brought China under its sphere of influence by military force and regarded it as a supplier of iron, coal, and other resources and an export market for Japanese products. Although Hara also insisted on ensuring Japan's interests in Manchuria, he wanted to strengthen Japan's influence in China through peaceful means.

Reality didn't develop as Hara imagined. At the Paris Peace Conference, the focus was on how to deal with the rights and interests arising from China's unequal treaties. Japan was worried that the abolition of the unequal treaties with China would touch Japan's interests in China, so it expressed resolute opposition, while China insisted on abolishing the unequal treaties and re-signing treaties of equality and friendship with other countries, and the two sides were in confrontation as a result. Japan threatened not to join the League of Nations, forced the European and American powers to recognize Japan's privileges in China, China expressed strong protests, and anti-Japanese movements such as boycotting Japanese loans in China also intensified, and Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply. At the same time, nationalist movements calling for "national self-determination" erupted on the Korean Peninsula. In March 1920, a mass movement broke out in Korea demanding liberation from the Japanese colonies. In order to improve relations with China, the Hara cabinet began to loosen its attitude toward abolishing the unequal treaty with China.

Hara's Anglo-American coordinated line of foreign affairs was also expressed in his intention to withdraw troops to resolve the negative legacy of the Terauchi cabinet - the issue of sending troops to Siberia. Hara Kei has always opposed the Terauchi cabinet sending troops to Siberia. Hara Kei once refuted Foreign Minister Ichiro Motono's remarks about sending troops to Terauchi Cabinet, saying, "It is unworkable to say that sending troops to other countries is not for the purpose of war." He also advised the temple to "end as soon as possible". Hara's opposition to Japan's invasion of Siberia was motivated by the fear of incurring the distrust of Japan from the United States and isolating Japan. At a meeting of the Terauchi Cabinet to investigate the Outer Minister, Hara Kei pointed out: "[On the issue of sending troops to Siberia], I would like to draw special attention to Japan-US relations, which have a direct impact on the future destiny of our country, and if Japan-US relations are estranged, the reason for this is that the United States suspects that Japan harbors aggressive ambitions in Siberia and China, so we should try to avoid deepening their suspicions, so that it is in our interests." "At that time, there were not a few people who advocated sending troops under the pretext of suppressing Soviet Russia because of the fear of Soviet Russia's export ** within the Japanese government. Hara Kei believes that "although I do not agree with the actions of the Russian faction, as a country, Japan should not regard them as enemies," and that "the influence of the faction is all over Russia, and the trend of the moderate faction that opposes it is in fact gone." Under these circumstances, it would not be a good strategy if Japan's policy was too much to provoke the distaste of the Jī faction." As a realist politician, Hara always considers issues based on reality, rather than judging from ideology. Since then, the issue of sending troops to Siberia has changed when the United States has requested Japan to jointly send troops to Japan in order to rescue the Czechoslovak army, with limited personnel and geographical conditions. The head of the Terauchi Cabinet and the General Staff Headquarters saw this as a good opportunity and advocated sending a large number of troops to Siberia under the pretext of self-defense. Hara advocated sending troops only within the limits set by the United States, but under the leadership of the General Staff Headquarters, Japan still increased the number of troops sent to Siberia, and by the time Hara became prime minister, the total number of Japanese troops had reached 172,000, which caused a strong protest from the United States. Immediately after forming the cabinet, Hara decided to withdraw his troops from Siberia and announced that he would reduce the number of troops remaining in Siberia to 36,000. But then the "Temple Street Incident" occurred, and the Russian Red Army began to launch a counterattack against the Japanese attack, and a large number of Japanese soldiers and a large number of left-behind expatriates were killed. Japan then sent troops to occupy the entire island of Sakhalin and demanded that Russia apologize and pay compensation, which caused a huge setback to the original plan to withdraw troops from Siberia. ,

On the issue of sending troops to Siberia, there was a fierce conflict between the Hara cabinet and the military department, and the contradictions between the two sides were also extremely acute in Japan's national defense construction policy.

Hara strengthened the Japanese armed forces by building armored mechanized units and perfecting naval and army aviation units, in accordance with the policy of "enriching national defense" promised to the Japanese public. However, in the face of a huge financial burden, Hara resolutely reformed the income tax and corporate tax systems. In order to prevent the Japanese economy from falling into recession, the Japanese government had to make fundamental revisions to the original plan for arms expansion. On the one hand, this is due to his insistence on the Japanese-American coordination line, and on the other hand, it is also due to Japan's financial situation. Yuan Jing believes that armaments are relatively negative after all, and if they can be controlled at a low level, they should not surpass it, and that large-scale military expansion will be useless. Regarding the role of military power, Hara Kei always believed that "politics should be higher than military affairs." In order to curb the growing power of the military department, Hara Kei tried to abolish the full-time military attache system of the General Staff Headquarters and the Colonial Governor, and allow civilian officials to serve as military officials. And these measures were rightly hated by the military department.

With regard to the arbitrariness of the military department, Yuan Jing has always had a strong sense of crisis and a high degree of vigilance. He was very angry that the military department always used the name of "commander-in-chief", and this time the "Vladivostok Incident" made Yuan Jing feel unbearable.

"The General Staff Headquarters always emphasizes the inviolability of the commander-in-chief, and those soldiers often bring out the imperial family to exert pressure on the political circles, and if it is allowed to develop, Japan's future will be extremely dangerous," Hara Jing clenched his fists, looked at the statue of Emperor Taisho hanging on the wall, and said loudly.

"It's probably too early to draw conclusions, but let's think about how to deal with the aftermath," Takahashi said.

"Isn't it enough to worry that the General Staff Headquarters is directly subordinate to the Emperor and independent of the government, and that the question of the right to command is repeatedly emphasized in everything? At this critical time of survival, we should take this opportunity to sweep away this drawback, which is the best policy for the sake of the country's royal family. Yuan Jing said resolutely.

"What about the total ideal?" Takahashi asked worriedly.

"We must not admit that the military department has taken action without authorization, and as Japan has done in the case of a war with China, Japan will become an enemy of the whole world," Hara said categorically.

Hara Kei said, picking up the clothes on the hanger, "I want to meet His Majesty the Emperor." ”

March 22, 1921, Tsushima Strait.

"Speed increased to 20 knots, turn right 15 degrees"

As soon as Halsey, the deputy captain standing on the battlecruiser "Minsheng", spoke, his jaw involuntarily began to shake rhythmically, and after giving the order, he used to lift the telescope and look towards the angle where the battleship was about to turn, and there, except for Daodaohai, there was nothing new.

Whenever he did this, Chen Shiying, the first mate of China beside him, would always convey his order to the corresponding department at the first time: "Turn right 15, speed 20"

After more than ten seconds, the "Minsheng" began to turn her bow. At this time, Tang Qianming, who was also standing on the bridge, had praised her excellence countless times in his heart.

It was the most powerful and elegant warship ever built in China, with no frills on its hull or deck, and at low speeds it was much quieter than the large freighters and warships built in China. At this time, the six mighty cannons in the bow of her ship were pointing majestically straight ahead, and when they rotated with the large, thick, neatly shaped turret, it made people feel a different kind of blood boiling, as if their whole body was about to burn.

At this time, Tang Qianming was wearing a dark blue sè navy uniform, a white sè shirt and a black sè bow tie, looking mighty and elegant. It may be that life on the ship is a personal relationship with relatively little leisure time, and the former Chinese vice captain of the navy has only military uniforms in his closet.

Looking at the "Minsheng" battlecruiser and the two "Republican" class battleships closely following behind, Tang Qian thought about the ups and downs, and unconsciously returned to the memory of the past.

Tang Qianming is a native of Xishui, Hubei, the word casting is new, Qing Guangxu 11 years (1885) was born in Nanliang Township Niu Huang Yuan, when he was a child, his father Tang Pingxin relied on debt to get through the day, fortunately great-grandfather Tang Yingxin revitalized the family business, Tang Qianming was able to complete his studies. In the 29th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1903), Tang Qianming graduated from Wuchang Wen Ordinary School; In the same year, Tang Qianming vowed to revitalize China by force, so he gave up the Beijing entrance examination and was admitted to the Fujian Shipbuilding School.

In the 30th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1904), the imperial examination was abolished, and Tang Qianming was sent to study in France because of his excellent academic performance, but he was opposed by the whole family, but fortunately he was supported by his eldest brother Tang Hualong to make it happen. After Tang Qianming finished his studies in France, he went to England to study the navy. In the first year of Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty (1909), Tang Qianming returned to the motherland after finishing his study abroad career, and successively served as the chief engineer of the cruiser "Jingqing" and the captain of the cruiser "Nanchen", and in the second year of Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty (1910), Tang Qianming was promoted to the chief of staff of the naval commander Sa Zhenbing.

After the Wuchang Uprising, Tang Qianming was ordered to lead a fleet to Hubei with Sa Zhenbing to assist the Qing War Minister Yin Chang in counterattacking Wuhan; Later, he was ordered to change to Jiujiang to participate in the war. Tang Qianming received a secret letter from his eldest brother Tang Hualong in Jiujiang that he would "make a special contribution as soon as possible", and immediately responded to Tang Hualong's call to convene the officers of all ships on the "Hairong" ship to plot an uprising, and was promoted by the representatives of each ship as the temporary commander of the uprising fleet; Seeing that the army's heart had been shaken, Sa Zhenbing quietly left the fleet and went to Shanghai. Tang Qianming took over the command of the fleet, and immediately ordered the rebel fleet to return to Wuhan, cruising on the river outside Hankou to shell the Qing army, preventing the Qing army from crossing the river, because the uprising fleet repeatedly repelled the Qing army in the battle, firmly contained the Qing army's crossing of the river, and effectively supported the Wuchang rebel army. The success of the Wuchang Uprising can be said to be due to the fact that the navy contributed a lot.

At that time, Tang Qianming commanded the operation of the German-made protective cruiser "Hairong" with a displacement of less than 3,000 tons.

In those battles, although the "Hairong" made many achievements, it was also seriously damaged under the artillery fire of the Qing army, and finally had to go to Shanghai for overhaul.

Today's Tang Qianming, standing on the "Minsheng" battle cruiser with a displacement of more than 50,000 tons, the feeling in his heart is difficult to describe in words.